Shloka 23
Strī Parva, Adhyāya 2 — Vidura’s Consolation on Kāla, Karma, and the Limits of Lamentation (विदुरोपदेशः)
न कालस्य प्रिय: वक्षरिन्न द्वेष्प: कुरुसत्तम । न मध्यस्थ: क्वचित्काल: सर्व काल: प्रकर्षति,कुरुश्रेष्ठ॒ कालका न किसीसे प्रेम है और न किसीसे द्वेष, उसका कहीं उदासीनभाव भी नहीं है। काल सभीको अपने पास खींच लेता है
na kālasya priyaḥ kaścid na dveṣyaḥ kurusattama | na madhyasthaḥ kvacit kālaḥ sarvaṃ kālaḥ prakarṣati ||
O best of the Kurus, Time has no one it favors and no one it hates. Time is never truly neutral at any moment; it draws all beings onward and carries everything to its appointed end. Vidura’s counsel underscores the ethical sobriety needed amid grief: do not mistake calamity for personal malice or partiality—recognize the inexorable law of change and act with steadiness in dharma.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Time is not driven by personal love or hatred; it is an impersonal force that inevitably carries all beings toward change, decline, and death. Recognizing this helps one restrain blame and despair, and return to steadiness in dharma.
In Strī Parva’s aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war, Vidura offers counsel meant to steady the grieving Kuru household. He frames the catastrophe within the larger, impartial movement of Kāla, urging a sober understanding rather than personalizing fate.